Wednesday, May 08, 2013

NL King - Who Are These Guys ?

Today I take a look at a number of players where I have to quote from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid "Who are these Guys?". I take a look at the fast starts from a number of surprising players.

Yuniesky Betancourt - Mil - 8HR, 24RBI, 14R, .276 Avg. Looked like his baseball career could be over but all of the Brewer injuries gave Betancourt maybe his last chance. Find it hard to believe this will continue.

John Buck - NY - 10HR, 29RBI, 16R, .245 Avg. Has been ridiculously good, however last 2 years he has hit .192 & .227 and the Mets have to play him an awful lot. I see the glass slipper coming off in the not to distant future.

Matt Carpentar - Stl - 3HR, 9RBI, 24R, .271 Avg. Run scoring machine and Carpentar is showing he deserves a chance to play every day.

Patrick Corbin - Arz - 4W, 1.80 ERA, 1.08 Ratio, 32K in 40 IP. Was up and down last year when he got a chance to start for the snakes but off to a terrific start this year.

Brandon Crawford - SF - 5HR, 15RBI, 18R. Has more HR's already than all of last year. I thought he was a negative player because the numbers he gives you get washed away due to his poor average but so far he is above the .250 mark and giving good numbers.

David DeJesus - Cubs - 4HR, 8RBI, 18R, 2SB, .275 Avg. DeJesus is the kind of guy who gets over looked even though he is a nice player. You also forget he had some nice years in KC not that long ago.

Evan Gattis - Atl - 7HR, 19RBI, 11R, .250 Avg. Has gone from feel good story to dominant power catching bat so far.

Jason Grilli - Pitt - 13SV, 0.64 ERA, 0.79 Ratio, 23K in 14IP. Showing that he can handle closing out games. He won't keep up this pace but he will be fine as a save option.

Chris Johnson - Atl - .323 Avg. Considering his batting average his other numbers are small. But he is doing his part. Keep in mind Johnson is a guy who looks like a player for 2 months and then can't get a hit for the rest of the season. Ride the wave but I am skeptical.

Matt Harvey - NY - 4W, 1.28 ERA, 0.69 Ratio, 58K in 49 1/3 IP. Am I surprised Harvey is having a good season of of course not. Am I surprised he is pitching like Sandy Koufax that's a big yes.

Jim Henderson - Mil - 7SV, 1.29 ERA, 0.93 Ratio. Keep in mind came up last year as a 29 year old rookie. Ride the wave and hope it lasts all year but I think this is a short term shelf life.

Nick Hundley - SD - 3HR, 11RBI, 13R, .278 Avg. After a disastrous 2012 (hit .157) is bouncing back with a solid year. Hundley has to with Grandal waiting in the wings come June after serving his 50 game suspension.

Kyle Kenderick - Phil - 4W, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 Ratio, 35K in 47 2/3IP. Has been sensational but keep in mind he is the kind of pitcher who has to hit his spots who he will get hit hard.

AJ Pollack - Arz - 4HR, 14RBI, 17R, 5SB, .267 Avg. Was a shoe-in to be sent to AAA after the Spring but due to all the injuries getting the chance to play every day. I have to see more before I am sold and what happens when Eaton is ready?

Jean Segura - Mil - 4HR, 13RBI, 16R, 8SB, .339 Avg. Did I think he could be a good player this year yes but not a dominant one. Injuries early on to Milwaukee has given Segura to hit at the top of the lineup.

Carlos Villanueva - Cubs - 1W, 2.85 ERA, 0.93 Ratio, 33K in 41 IP. Could easily have 4 wins, always had talent but inconsistency has been his bugaboo. Now he is getting chance to start which is what he always wanted.

Jake Westbrook - Stl - 2W, 1.07 ERA, 1.39 Ratio, 18K in 33 2/3 IP. How do you have a 1.07 ERA with a 1.39 Whip? Westbrook will come back to earth soon because he has to be picture perfect to get outs.

Travis Wood - Cubs - 3W, 2.33 ERA, 0.93 Ratio, 34K in 46 1/3 IP. Had a nice rookie year in 2010 and since then has been bad and switched organizations.